Autostrada A9 (Italy)

The Autostrada A9 or Autostrada dei Laghi ("Lakes motorway") is an autostrada (Italian for "motorway") 31.5 kilometres (19.6 mi) long in Italy located in the region of Lombardy. It connects to the Autostrada A8 at Lainate, near Milan, and it reaches Como, on the Lake Como, and Chiasso, on the Italy–Switzerland border, where it connects to the Swiss road network (Gotthard Motorway). It is a part of the E35 European route.

Autostrada A9
Autostrada dei Laghi Lakes motorway
Route information
Part of E35
Maintained by ANAS
Length	31.5 km (19.6 mi)
Existed	1924–present
Major junctions
South end	Lainate
Major intersections	A8 in Lainate A36 in Lomazzo/Turate A59 in Como
North end	Como
Location
Country	Italy
Regions	Lombardy
Highway system
Roads in Italy Autostrade State Regional Provincial Municipal
← A 8 → A 10

Autostrada A9 is commonly defined, together with the Autostrada A8, as the "Autostrada dei Laghi". The Autostrada A8 connects Milan to Varese (on the Lake of Varese) and connects Milan to Gallarate and Sesto Calende on Lake Maggiore and on Lake Monate (now part of the Gallarate - Gattico connection, also part of the Autostrada dei Laghi). Inaugurated in 1924, Autostrada dei Laghi is the first motorway built in the world.^[1][2]

History

Main article: Autostrade of Italy

The King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy inaugurated the Autostrada dei Laghi ("Lakes Motorway"; now parts of the Autostrada A8 and Autostrada A9), the first motorway built in the world,^[1][2] on 21 September 1924, aboard the royal Lancia Trikappa.

Historical map of 1926 of the Autostrada dei Laghi

The term "autostrada" was used for the first time in an official document in 1922 in which the engineer Piero Puricelli presented the project for the Autostrada dei Laghi ("Lakes Motorway"); with that term, it indicated those roads characterized by a straight path (as far as possible), without obstacles, characterized by a high achievable speed, passable only by motor vehicles (Italian: autoveicoli, hence the name) aimed at the rapid transport of goods and people.^[3]

Italy was the first country in the world to build motorways reserved for fast traffic and for motor vehicles only.^[1][2] The Autostrada dei Laghi ("Lakes Motorway"), the first built in the world, connecting Milan to Lake Como and Lake Maggiore, and now parts of the Autostrada A8 and Autostrada A9, was devised by Piero Puricelli and was inaugurated in 1924.^[2] Piero Puricelli, a civil engineer and entrepreneur, received the first authorization to build a public-utility fast road in 1921, and completed the construction (one lane in each direction) between 1924 and 1926. Piero Puricelli decided to cover the expenses by introducing a toll.^[4]

Toll gate of the Autostrada dei Laghi in Milan in 1924

Autostrada dei Laghi in 1925

It was a futuristic project because there were few cars in circulation in Italy at that time. In 1923 there were a total of 53,000 cars circulating on Italian roads (between 1928 and 1929 there was a significant increase, as they went from 142,000 cars in circulation to 173,000 respectively).^[5] In 1927 there were 135,900 cars circulating in Italy, corresponding to one vehicle for every 230 inhabitants, while today the ratio is 1 car for every 1.6 inhabitants.^[5] The most motorized Italian regions were those of northern Italy and central Italy, with Lombardy at the top of the list with over 38,700 cars in 1923, while at the bottom of the list was Basilicata with 502 cars.^[5] Milan was the Italian city in which the most car licences were issued annually (12,000 in 1928), while the Italian region where the fewest licences were issued was Sardinia, with only 632 new licences.^[5]

Originally, the motorway was just a single carriageway. It was not upgraded to a dual carriageway before the mid-1960s.^[6][7]

Route

Autostrada A9 near Saronno

Autostrada A9 near Como

Toll gate Como Grandate

LAINATE – COMO – CHIASSO Autostrada dei Laghi
Exit	↓km↓	↑km↑	Province	European route
Milano - Varese	0.0 km (0 mi)	31.5 km (19.6 mi)	MI	E35
Origgio	3.7 km (2.3 mi)	27.8 km (17.3 mi)	VA
Uboldo	4.7 km (2.9 mi)	26.8 km (16.7 mi)
Saronno	5.4 km (3.4 mi)	26.1 km (16.2 mi)
Turate	8.7 km (5.4 mi)	22.8 km (14.2 mi)	CO
Autostrada Pedemontana Lombarda	11.7 km (7.3 mi)	19.8 km (12.3 mi)
Lomazzo Sud	13.4 km (8.3 mi)	18.1 km (11.2 mi)
Lomazzo Nord	15.1 km (9.4 mi)	16.4 km (10.2 mi)
Rest area "Lario"	17.3 km (10.7 mi)	14.2 km (8.8 mi)
Fino Mornasco	19.5 km (12.1 mi)	12.0 km (7.5 mi)
Tangenziale di Como (Villa Guardia - Como Est)	22.6 km (14.0 mi)	8.9 km (5.5 mi)
Toll gate Como Grandate	22.7 km (14.1 mi)	8.8 km (5.5 mi)
Como Centro	23.5 km (14.6 mi)	9.0 km (5.6 mi)
Como Monte Olimpino	29.1 km (18.1 mi)	3.4 km (2.1 mi)
Lake Como	30.8 km (19.1 mi)	0.7 km (0.43 mi)
Customs of Como Brogeda Rest area "Brogeda" Italy–Switzerland border Gotthard Motorway Chiasso - Lugano - Gotthard - San Bernardino	31.5 km (19.6 mi)	0.0 km (0 mi)

References

1. Lenarduzzi, Thea (30 January 2016). "The motorway that built Italy: Piero Puricelli's masterpiece". The Independent. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
2. "The "Milano-Laghi" by Piero Puricelli, the first motorway in the world". Retrieved 10 May 2022.
3. "Le prime autostrade su Strade ANAS" (in Italian). Retrieved 1 March 2024.
4. "1924 Mile Posts". Archived from the original on 12 March 2008. Retrieved 3 April 2006.
5. "Storia dell'automobile: quando c'era un'auto ogni 230 abitanti" (in Italian). Retrieved 1 March 2024.
6. Merzagora, Eugenio. "Motorways in Italy (numbering)". Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
7. "L'evoluzione delle autostrade italiane 31 - Stagniweb". www.stagniweb.it. Retrieved 5 August 2024.

See also

• Italy portal
• Roads portal

• Autostrade of Italy
• History of controlled-access highways
• Roads in Italy
• Transport in Italy

Other Italian roads

• State highways (Italy)
• Regional road (Italy)
• Provincial road (Italy)
• Municipal road (Italy)

External links

Media related to Autostrada A9 (Italy) at Wikimedia Commons